A coconut tree costs as little as RM5. So why did Ipoh City Council (MBI) buy six plastic trees in 2002 at a total of RM90,000 only to discard these now?

DAP Ipoh Barat parliamentarian M Kula Segaran, who posed this question, demanded that the Perak government and MBI come clean on the matter.

He claimed that MBI had bought the plastic trees to beautify Ipoh in response to complaints that the city was drab and in need of brightening up.

The purchase and installation of each tree, including lights to illuminate it at night, cost RM15,000, he said.

Now, only four years later, these trees will be 'uprooted' and discarded as they are an eyesore, he said.

Citing "inside sources", he further said MBI officers had travelled to China to see through the purchase of the plastic trees.

"Why couldn't they just buy and plant real trees? Each costs only bout RM5. Even I have coconut trees that I can donate to MBI free of charge," Kula Segaran said.

"The MBI also has to explain why they purchased plastic trees when the 'lifespan' is only four years."

The trend

When questioned about the choice during the November 2003 state assembly sitting, Menteri Besar Mohd Tajol Rosli Mohd Ghazali had reportedly said plastic trees "are the trend everywhere and will (be attractive to) ratepayers and tourists alike".

(These trees - which come in lurid shades of red, yellow and blue - were installed in several localities from the late 1990s, a move that drew sharp criticism from the public.)

Kula Segaran further alleged that Ipoh Mayor Mohd Rafiai Moktar said MBI was compelled to buy the trees in order to be eligible for a RM2 million federal allocation to be used to illuminate the city.

"If this is to be believed, why - when the question was posed in 2003 - didn't the MBI mention the federal government's pre-condition? Did the mayor have the facts or was he covering up the mistakes of councillors and officers?" he asked.

State executive council members heading the information and local government portfolios could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

One exco member, who requested anonymity, did concede the need for answers.
"Any use of public monies should be cautiously executed, thought out carefully and evaluated as to its suitability," said the member.